450 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO claim to be first. No other county in Ohio or in the nation has published such a record. The graves of our dead heroes are scattered through thirteen different states. Most of them are buried where they fell and few have monuments to mark the spot." "In many a fevered swamp, By many a black bayou In many a cold and frozen camp, The weary sentinel ceased his tramp And died for me and you. From western plain to ocean tide Are stretched the graves of those who died." Here is a statement of the mortality by townships: Adams, twelve; Blue Rock, twenty-eight; Brush Creek, nineteen; Cass, seventeen; Clay, seven; Falls, sixteen; Highland, sixteen; Hopewell, twenty-three; Harrison, thirty; Jackson, fifteen; Jefferson, twenty-six; Licking, twenty; Meigs, seventeen; Monroe, twelve; Madison, fourteen; Muskingum, fifteen; Newton, twenty; Perry, fourteen; Rich Hill, twenty-five; Salt Creek, fifteen; Salem, nineteen; Springfield, sixty-three; Union, thirty-six; Washington, twelve; Wayne, twenty-two—total, 513. ZANESVILLE BY WARDS First, fourteen; second, twenty; third, sixteen; fourth, thirtythree—total, eighty-three. Imprisonment of Muskingum's soldiers resulted in deaths as follows: Andersonville, thirteen; Libby and Belle Island, five; Florence, nine; Macon, three ; Millen, five; Selsburg, two; Charleston, six. DEAD OFFICERS Included in the 604 deaths were the following officers: Major Wm. Edwards, Sixty-second O. V. I., and B. G. O. Reed, One Hundred and Seventy-fourth O. V. I. Captains E. Hillis Talley, Company D, Seventy-eighth; Thomas L. Hanson, Company A, Fifteenth; Wm. Berkshire, K, Ninety-seventh; John C. Hazlett, E, Second; J. C. Cummins, Fifteenth. Adjutant Dan C. Liggitt, Sixty-second. Lieutenants Thomas Hopes, F, Seventy-eighth; Charles E. Hazlett, D, Fifth Artillery; Hamline Gardner, B, Seventy-eighth; SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 451 John T. Caldwell, Seventy-eighth; William Gardner, K, Ninety-seventh ; Joshua Madden, First Artillery; Edward H. Hilliard, I, One Hundred and Twenty-second; Frederick Lentz, K, Nineteenth; J. Stanley Cochran, Nineteenth; Jefferson O. McMillen, I, One Hundred and Twenty-second ; Andrew L. Hadden, A, Fifteenth. "The Silent Dead" is a monument to John W. King's painstaking industry and patriotic spirit. CHAPTER LVI ZANESVILLE TOOK THE LEAD IN MAKING AMERICAN TILING AMERICAN ENCAUSTIC COMPANY FOUND IT HARD AT FIRST TO GET INTO THE MARKET-BUT PRODUCT SOON MADE ITS WAY-NEW $100,000 PLANT OPENED 1892. Fifty-four years ago F. H. Hall, a Zanesville man whose knowledge of local clays was equaled by his faith in their commercial value, was moved to apply for financial backing to B. Fischer of New York. The big idea of this local man was that the home clays would make just as good tiling as foreign clays and that it was altogether out of order to continue the importation of foreign makes when tile could be made here. This was a very good sort of Americanism. We shall see how it resulted in American tiling. Two years of costly experiments followed, but Mr. Fischer stoutly stood his losses. Presently the projector of the enterprise retired and was succeeded by an expert from England. The Hall ball had kept on rolling, however, and the new man helped it to roll in the right direction. Mr. Fischer took in a partner and the firm Fischer and Lansing began to feel that solid ground lay beneath their feet. In 1877 they furnished the tile for the floor of Muskingum's new courthouse, charging the contractor $1 per square foot. Foreign tile would have cost him $1.25. (By 1894 better Zanesville tile was being furnished at about one-third the price named.) ZANESVILLE MAN TO THE FRONT In 1877 George R. Stanbery took charge of the plant and his mechanical genius and wise management soon gave new impetus to its success. He invented and put into commission new dies that were marvels of usefulness. Demands for the tiling multiplied. - 453 - 454 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO In 1878 a stock company was organized and The American Encaustic Tiling Company succeeded Fischer and Lansing. But builders, contractors, and architects were conservative as a class. So many of them were skeptical as to the quality of Zanesville tiling that its makers became impatient. Large as their market and production was, progress was too slow for Mr. Stanbery and his associates. So they became contractors as well as makers, laying tile all over the country and guaranteeing its durability. This was a master stroke. The plan and the tile won their way. Orders poured in. The plant couldn't make enough to fill the orders, although new floor space had been added. It was unfortunately located for expansion. At front it stood on the street line, in the rear against the towering hillside, at the ends there were narrow spaces. To make a shoestring factory of it was out of the question. A great plot of ground, big enough not merely for present purposes, but also for the future, was a matter of necessity. Mr. Stanbery, John Hoge, and Robert D. Schultz were the Zanesville stockholders. The bulk of the shares belonged to residents of New York City. The latter decided upon a New Jersey site for the proposed works. The question was, "Can Zanesville keep this great industry by offering a free site?" BACKED UP THE GUARANTEE The Board of Trade went to work. It was recognized that a mammoth new plant would benefit all taxpayers and that its cost should be levied upon the whole duplicate. But time pressed. It became necessary to raise a guarantee fund at once. A vote upon the proposition could not be waited for. So a Board of Trade committee combed the town for many days. They raised $40,000. Options were secured on several pieces of ground. The company chose the site on Linden Avenue where its plant now stands. The taxpayers stood for its cost by an overwhelming vote at the polls, thereby relieving the guarantors of the obligations they had assumed. Board of Trade officials had believed the voters would ratify their action but nothing was left undone to enlighten public sentiment. The newspapers did a great service. A mass meeting was called for Memorial Hall. It was to be held a few days before the election. It was held but there wasn't much "mass" SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 457 about it. The attendance was alarmingly small. What did it mean? Defeat? No, the vote proved the contrary. It meant that voters needed no more arguments. Their minds were made up. "A GRAND AND GLORIOUS DAY" Shop by shop the new plant arose from the ground during 1891 and 1892. The work was done at a cost of $100,000. In April the plant was formally dedicated. Twenty thousand persons passed through it. It was a gala day in Zanesville. Business was suspended. Schools remained closed. Governor. William McKinley came down from Columbus to deliver the principal address. There was a plant in Germany which manufactured tile and other clay products but none anywhere manufacturing tile alone that equalled this new one in magnitude. Zanesville had a right to claim the possession of the largest tile works in the world and has claimed it- ever since. Great additions since made have given new verity to the claims. But Zanesville's prominence in tile making by no means depends now upon the great plant at the upper end of Linden Avenue. The Mosaic plant at Luck and Coopermill roads followed. There too, a wonderful growth has taken place, while over on the other side of Chap's Run a part of the J. B. Owens plant also turns out tiling, and at Norval Park the new Standard plant exists. The Mosaic, founded by Ebert Peabody, Karl Langenbeck and Herman Mueller, and developed by the late Wm. M. Shinnick, has reached vast proportions. CHAPTER LVII LOCAL POTTERS STOOD AT THE WHEEL AS EARLY AS THE YEAR 1808 PLAIN DISHES AND STONEWARE THE EARLIEST PRODUCTS—MANY WERE THE COUNTRY POTTERS—IMMENSE SHIPMENTS SOUTH IN FLATBOATS—BY 1900 ZANESVILLE WAS BEGINNING TO BE CALLED THE WORLD'S ART POTTERY CENTER—PUTNAM HILL A CLAY "MONUMENT"—McKINLEY MEMORIAL A NOTABLE AFFAIR—ZANESVILLE HOST TO Y. M. I. CONVENTION. The clays of Muskingum County attracted the attention of pottery makers at an early day. In Zanesville, in 1808, Samuel Sullivan turned out rough plates, cups and saucers. Solomon Purdy produced bowls, plates, etc., in Putnam as early as 1820 and at about that time a potter named Burley and others were engaged in stoneware manufacture. In Newton Township Joseph Rosier was a producer as early as 1814 and by 1828, A. Ensminger was operating. There was a development of the industry in the country on a large scale after flatboats began to carry cargoes of various kinds from Zanesville to New Orleans and later when shipment could be made by railway. The shipments of stoneware—jugs, crocks, jars, etc.—assumed enormous proportions. Country potters of the districts mentioned and potters of the town hauled their wares to the Putnam boat landing, where they were unloaded and "stored" on the river bank until the buyers could carry them into the flatboats and pack them for shipment south. When the railroads began to operate in Zanesville there was a marked increase of stoneware shipments. There were two leading stoneware railroad yards where the ware was unloaded and carried into box cars, where it was packed in straw and forwarded to the points of destination. One was at the intersection - 459 - 460 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO of the C. & M. V. Railroad and the Coopermill Road; the other, in West Zanesville, just north of the mouth of the Licking. S. A. WELLER A MAN OF VISION The second marked stage of development began at Fultonham in or near the year 1873 when S. A. Weller produced plain unpainted flower pots and stoneware in a small pottery with primitive equipment. Ten years later he leased a frame building on South Second Street at Locust Alley, in Zanesville and used it for the storage of his wares. By 1888 he was producing from his pottery on the river bank at the foot of Pierce Street. These were but the first steps of the development referred to. To most makers of clay products clay was opaque; to S. A. Weller it was as transparent as glass, for he saw clear through it and beyond the plain crock or jug, he caught visions of the beautiful glazed vase, urn, pedestal and jardiniere. "Turn, turn my wheel ; turn round and round Without a pause, without a sound ; So spins the flying world away! This clay well mixed with marl and sand, Follows the motion of my hand, For some must follow and some command, Though all are made of clay." Clay is sometimes derisively called "mud," but what new dignity that material began to take on when, following the motion of the potter's hand it rose through a dozen processes to a thousand forms of beauty. Beginning with the homely vessels of domestic use, S. A. Weller rose to the higher types, as if in answer to the potter's song— "Turn, turn my wheel, all things must change To something new, to something strange." Mr. Weller's early Zanesville products were plain flower pots and the higher grades of stoneware. Soon a varied line of decorated flower pots was added. Thus was taken the second step toward accomplishing the ambition of his early life—the making of art pottery. SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 461 RESPONSIVE MARKETS The success of that step was striking. The public at once took kindly to the forms, colors and designs. Demand outgrew facilities. A large plant became necessary. The nucleus of it sprang up in 1890. Here the progress toward higher forms of art pottery was swift and continuous. In 1894 the Lonhuda ware came from the Weller kilns, followed by the Louwelsa and other types. Their glazed surfaces had wonderful depth, richness and brilliancy. To add that the art products of this plant have grown beyond measure in variety, extent and beauty and that other Zanesville producing concerns, including the Roseville pottery, have contributed a share to the city's fame as the "world's art pottery center," is to state what most readers already know. The Zanesville expansion of the Weller potteries began in 1890 with erection of a plant on the C. M. & V. Railway, between Pierce Street and Cemetery Drive. Extensions to this were made in 1893 and 1894 and then it was that the new and beautiful glazed art wares were launched. There was a check in production when, on May 10, 1895, the new plant was destroyed by fire, but with its rebuilding the progressive development of Zanesville art pottery went steadily forward. THE LOCAL CLAYS Passing from the special field of art pottery to the subject of Muskingum County clays, it is in order to quote views given years ago by Professor Karl Langenbeck, who was, in 1895, associated with the Mosaic Tile Co., of Zanesville. Speaking as chemist and manufacturer he said this of our local clays: "Few of the busy men of Zanesville realize that right in the heart of this city is a huge monument covered with inscriptions. These describe with great accuracy where there lies buried an immense treasure sufficient to support for long years thousands in luxury and millions of toilers in comfort and well being. "This monument, which is known to all men who can read its inscriptions and which has advertised Zanesville among such men from the Atlantic to the Pacific, is Putnam Hill * * * While from its summit many busy manufactories can be seen   462 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO that work clays, the existence of which it tells, they produce but a small fraction of the kinds of products that the world today makes of just such clays as Putnam Hill shows are about us." CHAPTER LVIII PUTNAM SEMINARY AND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH HISTORY INTERWOVEN THE TWO INSTITUTIONS BEGAN TO EXIST IN MIDDLE THIRTIES AND HAD COMMON SUPPORT—SEMINARY BUILDING NOW HOUSES HELEN PURCELL HOME—PUTNAM CHURCH HAS HAD BUT SEVEN PASTORS IN EIGHTY-NINE YEARS—BROTHER OF HENRY WARD BEECHER ITS FIRST MINISTER. A regrettable event of the year 1902 was the retirement of the Putnam Seminary from the field of education, the closing of an institution whose long history had been one of great usefulness, distinction and honor. For two years after the cessation of its activities the building was occupied by the Brunton Sanitarium and at the end of that period the property was purchased by the trustees of the Helen Purcell Home, since which time it has been a home for aged women. The story of the rise and progress of this present institution is exceedingly interesting. Our pleasant task in the first section of this chapter is to speak of the origin and character of the Putnam Seminary. When Miss Sarah Sturges Buckingham returned to her Putnam home after a period of schooling in Hartford, Conn., during the year 1835, she came with the feeling that at home there was a real need for a good school for girls. Action followed conviction. An establishment of that kind was opened in the Stone Academy on what is now Jefferson, Street and a governess of the Buckingham home was placed in charge. The public took 'kindly to the enterprise and the General Assembly was asked to incorporate it. The response was favorable and the trustees were William H. Beecher, Levi Whipple, Alvah Buckingham, Julius C. Guthrie, Solomon Sturges, and Albert A. Guthrie. Thus the Putnam Class Institute came into being. - 463 - 30—Vol. 1 464 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO A TIMELY TWENTY THOUSAND The act of incorporation was passed in 1836. Miss L. A. Emerson of Newburyport, Mass., had previously become the institute's principal. Removal of the school was later made to the baseinent of the Putnam Presbyterian Church, but it was felt that a seminary was called for and would be supported, an institution with a home of its own. Mrs. Eunice Buckingham, widow of Ebenezer Buckingham, donated $10,000 for the purpose and Solomon Sturges and Alvah Buckingham $5,000 each. The lot chosen is the one whereon now stands the Helen Purcell Home. The building was completed in the fall of 1838, a three-story brick, 110 by 45 feet. The trustees added a rear section in 1855 and in 1868 Charles W. Potwin and James Buckingham donated $4,000 each to add to the structure a mansard roof. By the will of Mrs. Eunice Buckingham, who died in 1843, the institution had received additional financial support, while a fund was provided thereby for the Buckingham Library. WHEN THIRTEEN YEARS OLD A catalogue still in existence shows the character of the seminary thirteen years after its Woodlawn Avenue home was completed. In the catalogue's prospectus there is a paragraph which reminds us that in 1851, a year before the Central Ohio Railroad was completed between Zanesville and Newark, stage coach service was this city's main reliance for ingress and egress. It reads : "This institution is situated in Putnam, a pleasant, retired and remarkably healthy village on the West bank of the Muskingum River, opposite Zanesville, with which it is connected by a fine bridge and is easy of access, being near the junction of the National and Maysville Turnpikes and but eight hours by stage from Columbus; twelve from Marietta, Chillicothe, Circleville, Wheeling and Mt. Vernon; sixteen from Cincinnati and twenty-four from Cleveland. The advantages of a daily mail are enjoyed from the East, West, North and South." PUTNAM THE MAIN SUPPORT That this stage service was useful is proven by the fact that of the 131 pupils enrolled during the year 1851, twenty-six were SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 467 from out-of-town points. Cincinnati furnished six of these; St. Louis, one; Chillicothe, two; Lafayette, Ind., one; New Lexington, one; Malta, one; New Orleans, one ; Dresden, one; Gratiot, one ; Mt. Gilead, one; Newark, two ; Roscoe, one; Massillon, one; Monticello, Ill., one; Sharon, one; Chandlersville, one; Port Washington, one; Hebron, one ; McConnelsville, one; East Cleveland, one. From Putnam there were eighty-two and from Zanesville twenty-three. On the staff of teachers was H. D. Munson, who had been a music teacher at the Monticello, Ill., Seminary, a short time before, when Miss Mary Cone was principal. His work there had been so satisfactory that when Miss Cone became principal of the Putnam Seminary she secured his services for that institution. It was thus that one of Zanesville's pioneers in music and the founder of the Munson Music Store, which still exists, came to be a resident of the city. Among the seminary records on the shelves of the McIntire library is a neatly bound volume containing the story of the institution's fiftieth anniversary. This fell on June 18, 1885, and the event was fittingly celebrated in Seminary hall, with 200 teachers, graduates, pupils and friends present. PUTNAM PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH It is fitting that the history of the Putnam Presbyterian Church should be told in the same chapter that covers the history of the Putnam Female Seminary. But two years separated the organization of the two institutions; the seminary's home was for a while in the basement of the church; most of the seminary's supporters were supporters of the church; the seminary and the church building were built on adjoining lots. The two organizations grew up together and contributed to each other's advancement during a period of nearly seventy years. Their ties of reciprocal interest and sympathywere only severed when the conductors of the seminary found it no longer profitable to continue its career. Seventeen persons initiated the movement which resulted in the formation of the Putnam Presbyterian Church. On March 6, 1833, they met in the little brick schoolhouse located on Woodlawn Avenue near Jefferson Street. They chose Dr. Increase Matthews to be chairman and A. A. Guthrie, secretary. J. C. 468 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO Guthrie, Levi Whipple and A. A. Guthrie were appointed to see if it would be feasible to secure funds sufficient for the erection of a church building, "to be controlled by the Presbyterians but open to all denominations," to work out a building plan and to secure estimates. STARTED WITH THIRTY-SIX At the end of ten days the committee reported in favor of a structure 50 by 70 feet with a stone basement, a vestibule 10 feet wide and a one-story brick auditorium. The report and plans were approved and a building committee consisting of Alvah Buckingham, J. C. Guthrie and Levi Whipple took up the work of securing, subscriptions. Mr. Whipple started the campaign by donating the ground on Woodlawn Avenue now occupied by the church and the committee secured money and labor pledges aggregating $5,190. Work went on and the church was dedicated in February, 1835. The members of the church numbered thirty-six. The general assembly incorporated the organization on March 7, 1835. In 1849 the congregation built a parsonage at a cost of $3,700 and in 1860 the Sunday school building was erected at a cost of $2,000. This structure was dedicated on December 6, 1860. Putnam had launched Sunday school activities long before this, Henry Safford having brought about a school in 1816 in the "ballroom" of the Burnham Hotel, at the North end of Putnam Avenue, or Main Street, as it was then called. Later the school was held in the historic Stone House and in 1820 it was moved to the Presbyterian Church, located across the river, at the corner of South and Fourth streets. SEVEN PASTORS IN EIGHTY-NINE YEARS There was a separation of the school in 1828, one section uniting with the Methodists in the formation of a union school. The Methodists later withdrew and the school met in the Putnam Presbyterian Church after its completion. When the Rev. David I. Johnson of Defiance, Ohio, was called to the pastorate of the Putnam Presbyterian Church in September, 1922, he became the seventh to hold the position since 1835. The first minister was the Rev. William H. Beecher, a brother SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 469 of Henry Ward Beecher, who served from 1835 to 1839. Mr. Beecher was succeeded in 1840 by the Rev. A. Kingsbury, who remained thirty-eight years—relinquishing his pastorate in 1878. The Rev. George F. Moore succeeded the Rev. Mr. Kingsbury, his pastorate extending from 1878 to 1883. The next pastor, the Rev. David R. Workman, served the church from 1884 to 1889. Mr. Workman was followed by the Rev. E. E. Rogers, who is well remembered. Mr. Rogers served from 1889 to 1897. The late Rev. G. R. Dickinson succeeded Mr. Rogers and entered upon his ministry in 1898. Mr. Dickinson's pastorate continued until his death, which occurred in 1921. He then had completed a quarter of a century at this church. The church celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary in 1910, with Mr. Dickinson preaching the historical sermon. CHAPTER LIX SENATOR HANNA THOUGHT WELL OF ZANESVILLE AS, A TROLLEY POINT BACKED PROJECT TO BUILD LANCASTER-ZANESVILLE LINE-HIS DEATH CURTAILED PLANS AND MADE CROOKSVILLE THE SOUTHERN TERMINAL- COLUMBUS-ZANESVILLE INTERURBAN FINISHED 1904. Inauguration of street car service in Zanesville began in the seventies. In 1890 the city horse-car lines were sold by F. M. Townsend to Akron, Ohio, parties, operating under the name of the Zanesville Street Railway Company. The electrification of the system by the new owners followed. Improvements other than that of electrical equipment were added in 1892 when an extension from LaSalle Place, along Linden Avenue, was made to the American Encaustic Tiling Company's plant. During the year before the Brighton Syndicate had secured an extension to the fair ground from West Main Street by way of Ridge Avenue, Belknap Street and Brighton Boulevard. The syndicate paid all the costs and took tickets for the amount. SUCCESSIVE OWNERS But the railway company failed to establish profitable operation and the system went into the hands of a receiver, a situation which lasted until August 1, 1902. Meanwhile on December 30, 1898, Messrs. J. R. and H. A. Garfield, F. C. Howe, F. W. Poole and M. J. Rudolph incorporated the Zanesville Electric Railway Company, with $300,000 capital, and organized on January 3, 1899, with Thomas T. Robinson as president; C. W. Foote, secretary and general manager; W. B. Cosgrave, treasurer and William Cristy, director. It was this organization the receiver turned the property over to and from this organization, on August 1, - 471 - 472 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO 1902. The Zanesville Railway, Light & Power Company took over the railway property and the electric light and power plant. Again improvements and extensions were made. The latter included a line a mile long, Northward from the Terrace and Southward from Putnam to the Eastern Tube Company's plant. In the summer of 1903 a new line to the Terrace by way of the Y-bridge, Linden Avenue, Lee Street and Blue Avenue and another by way of Underwood and Monroe streets to the South end of the Monroe Street bridge, were constructed. During April, 1904, the company's waiting room was moved from its location on Main Street, West of Sixth Street, to the Southeast corner of Main and Sixth streets, where it is located now. The line for Marietta Street and Marietta Road and the South Sixth, South and Eighth Street loop were built in 1905. ATTRACTS HANNA'S NOTICE Among the Ohio men who became interested in interurban projects during the early years of the present century was Gen. A. J. Warner, of Marietta, and the connection of Zanesville with Columbus by a trolley line appealed strongly to him. He put men in the field to take up rights of way and while prosecuting the work found that the Appleyards of Boston coveted the enterprise and sold to them his interest therein. Eventually the road came under the control of the Ohio Electric Company, along with the city lines. Its present owner is the Southern Ohio Public Service Company. It was intended to build the Columbus-Zanesville line on and alongside the National Road the whole distance, but owners of the strips of land desired for rights of way along the Eastern half of the road held out for prices thought to be unreasonable. The result was a change which routed the road via Newark and the Licking Valley from Hebron to Zanesville, instead of via the National Road. The line began operations in May, 1904. HELP FROM STRONG SOURCE "Had Senator Marcus A. Hanna lived a little while longer—he died February 15, 1904—the Southeastern Ohio Electric Railway would have been extended from Zanesville to Lancaster, instead of terminating at Crooksville and its greater length in that case would have contributed materially to its prosperity." SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 475 In these words Frank M. Ransbottom, president of the First Trust and Savings Bank, of Zanesville, revealed the importance of Ohio's famous senator's connection with the Southeastern enterprise. Mr. Ransbottom's story of the beginning of that connection is worth reporting. At the time of that beginning, M. A. Hanna was a member of the United States Senate, to which he was elected in 1897. A political campaign was on. The Senator had spoken at a meeting in Coshocton and was billed for another next day at Zanesville. At this time Mr. Ransbottom was chairman of the Muskingum County Republican Committee. He had gone to the Coshocton meeting and had been invited by Senator Hanna to ride with him in his private car to Zanesville. It was during this ride that Senator Hanna showed his interest in the building of interurbans. IN THE SENATOR'S LINE It was a natural interest. Although a wholesale merchant at the opening of his business career, the Senator's later activities were centered in affairs of transportation. He took a strong hand in the movement of traffic on the lake and interested himself in the building of lake steamers. Besides that he became president, of the Cleveland Electric Railway and a director of the Union Pacific Road. "On our way to Zanesville," said Mr. Ransbottom, "the senator asked me about the city's interurban prospects. I told him s the Columbus, Newark and Zanesville line would scion be in operation. " 'Well,' said the senator, 'how about another line? Is there another good route?' "I said yes, and told him about the territory lying between Zanesville and Lancaster, mentioning the towns—Roseville, Crooksville, New Lexington, Junction City and Bremen. He appeared to be impressed with the opportunity, asking questions but said nothing definite: "Next day, however, the senator's private secretary called me up from Columbus, the senator having gone to the capital city from Zanesville. The question was, 'Do you believe that Zanesville business men would give the enterprise their moral support and would the land owners on the route be reasonable as to rights of way?' 476 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO "I was so confident on these scores," continued Mr. Ransbottom, "that I answered both questions with .a strong affirmative. FULL STEAM AHEAD " 'All right, then,' was the secretary's reply ; 'Senator Hanna has authorized me to incorporate and you are to be one of the five.' The other four were Edward R. Meyer, and M. W. Hissey of this city, Auditor of State Walter Guilbert and a man named Harris. "Action followed with that swiftness which Senator Hanna required in all such transactions. Soon after the issue of incorporation papers the enterprise was turned over to 'Doctor' Hissey, who took up and pressed to a satisfactory conclusion the survey aid the securing of rights of way. The making of blue prints and other necessary preparations for the work of construction went on." But while this was going forward Senator Hanna died and his financial strength was missed. It was decided to end the line at Crooksville. Automobiles in due time drove the Southeastern Ohio traction line out of business. Its rolling stock disappeared and its rails were sold to junk dealers. CHAPTER LX LAUNCHED THE CITY'S FIRST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN 1905 R. H. EVANS ELECTED PRESIDENT-CORNERSTONE NEW MARKET STREET BAPTIST CHURCH LAID-AMERICAN ROLLING MILL COMPANY BUYS LOCAL SHEET STEEL PLANT-HOME-COMING NUMBER TWO AN ENJOYABLE EVENT. Zanesville had organized and maintained Citizens' Leagues, Boards of Trade, Builders' Exchanges, and other commercial bodies prior to 1905, but in that year her leading spirits thought it was time to go a step further and organize a Chamber of Commerce, intending to work .for a larger membership and wider activities than had ever been developed locally. The movement was launched on the evening of March 16, 1905, in the Clarendon Hotel dining room after 250 citizens and invited guests had partaken of a banquet. The feast being over, with R. L. Quiesser in the chair as toastmaster, Rev. A. M. Courtnay, pastor of Second Street M. E. Church, offered an invocation. A. Clyde Reasoner followed with a song "Make Zanesville Grow," written by A. H. Levy, of the A. E. Starr Company. The speeches were many and excellent. Toastmaster Quiesser led off and the flow of eloquence and appeal went on until 2 o'clock in the morning. The orators were Judge I. G. Jennings, General R. B. Brown, R. H. Evans, A. E. Starr, John F. Brown, Hon. Charles S. Dana, of Marietta; Hon. J. T. McDermott, J. B. Owens, Col. T. F. Spangler, Rev. Donald M. Ross, C. B. Hart, of Wheeling, and Paul C. Martin, of Springfield. FIRST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Just before adjournment a resolution was unanimously adopted declaring it expedient to form an organization to be known as the Zanesville Chamber of Commerce. The toastmaster was di- 478 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO rected to appoint a committee of five to draft a constitution and by-laws. This he reserved for later action. On the eighteenth instant Mr. Quiesser named Messrs. John J. Adams, R. H. Evans, M. M. Duncan, A. T. Baker, and J. B. Owens for the work in hand. At a meeting held on March 27, the new constitution and by laws and the rules and regulations were read and adopted. The annual dues were fixed at $8. A charter membership of 200 was announced and an effort planned to double the number. The Hon. Charles U. Shryock remained secretary until April 23, when he resigned and Manley H. Thompson was elected to fill the vacancy. R. H. EVANS, PRESIDENT The organization meeting took place in the Builders' Exchange rooms on April 3, 1905. It was reported that 250 citizens had become members without being solicited. The fourteen members in the following list were elected directors of the body: R. H. Evans, H. H. Sturtevant, John J. Adams, A. T. Baker, R. L. Quiesser, W. B. Cosgrave, T. F. Spangler, John F. Brown, Julius Frank, 0. N. Townsend, W. E. Lloyd, C. U. Shryock, J. K. Geddes, S. A. Weller. Five days later these directors elected R. H. Evans president, R. L. Quiesser and W. E. Lloyd first and second vice presidents respectively; W. B. Cosgrave treasurer. On April 7 the Builders' Exchange was dissolved. NEW MARKET STREET BAPTIST CHURCH The cornerstone of the new Market Street Baptist Church, on North Sixth Street was laid Thursday evening, July 6, 1905, with impressive ceremonies. Rev. J. C. Baldwin, D. D., of Granville, Ohio, delivered the principal address, which included a history of the church. Attorney H. E. Buker, chairman of the building committee, read a list of the articles which were to be deposited in the cornerstone, along with all those deposited in the cornerstone of the old church erected in 1837. The new collection was listed as follows: A copy of the Bible, Baptist Hymnal, Baptist Manual, church year book, picture of the old church, list of names of the members of the building committee, of the contractors and architects and copies of the following local publications : Times Recorder, Sig- SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 479 nal, Courier, Sunday News, Catholic Home Companion, Labor Journal and Zanesville Post. To this collection were added a complete roster of the Sunday School; a picture of the chapel, copies of the Sunday School papers; quarterlies, class cards, copies of the last two programs rendered; roster of the B. Y. P. U. and the Junior Society and the last program rendered by the Woman's Missionary Society. IN THE CORNERSTONE The lead casket which was used had been presented by J. A. Leroy. Dr. J. K. Smith placed in this receptacle the articles listed. Mr. Leroy sealed it and the box, which was eighteen inches long, six inches wide, and seven inches high, was deposited in the cornerstone. Above the stone another stone was placed. Rev. T. B. Caldwell, pastor of the church, having assisted in this ceremony, delivered appropriate remarks; whereupon the exercises ended with the singing of the Long Meter Doxology and the pronouncing of the Benediction. The need for a new church was urgent.. The congregation had outgrown the old one. In discussions of the new project it was thought by some that the church's name should be changed to Calvary Baptist Church, but when the proposition was put to a vote on July 5, 1905, it failed to prevail. The name Market Street Baptist Church had been adopted when the congregation held services during two years in a hall on Market Street. The church was dedicated during the week of June 18, 1906. IMPORTANT OWNERSHIP CHANGE On July 7, 1905, it was announced that Zanesville's sheet steel mill, owned by the. Muskingum Valley Steel Company, had become the property of the American Rolling Mill Company of Middletown, Ohio. The results of the transfer have contributed so much to the metal-working industries of the community that we shall dwell for a time upon its details. The announcement stated that the Zanesville mill, known as a six-mill plant, gave the purchasing corporation the additional capacity needed. To provide for the purchase of the. Zanesville plant and larger working capital for the combined plants, the capital 'stock was increased from $750,000 to $4,000,000. In de- 31—Vol. 1 480 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO scribing the standing and facilities of the American Rolling Mill Company it was stated that its plant was "one of the most complete, modern, and up-to-date" of its kind; that it had made wonderful progress in the production of high grade steel sheets. "There is no other plant in the world," it was added, "where you can see pig iron and scrap iron converted into steel, from steel into bars, from sheet bars into steel sheets, and thence into manufactured building materials, all within 1,000 lineal feet of one plat of ground and under one management." A. M. Verity of Middletown, president of the American Rolling Mill Company, has from the day of purchase to the present time, taken warm interest in the development of the company's Zanesville plant and A. F. Murphy, the Zanesville general manager, has seconded that, interest in every way. Within the past few years such additions have been made to the mill as to double its capacity and such improvements as to give it a wholly modern equipment. HOME-COMING NUMBER TWO Zanesville's second home-coming was set for Thursday, September 21, 1905, and it was enjoyed by all participants. The great body of visitors came again from Columbus. A Zanesville and Western special arrived at the station with a multitude from the Capital City. The weather was fine. The merchants had decorated and the latch-string was out. Mayor W. B. Deacon was general chairman of a committee whose members made the home corners welcome. Delegations were met as trains rolled in and the visitors were escorted to the armory in the Monumental Building, where registration was made. Most of the visitors made their way to the fair grounds, headquarters having been established in Exposition Hall. There former residents met each other and Zanesville friends. In the evening there was an "Old Settlers' 'Ball" in Memorial Hall. The hotels were full and' notwithstanding a great many homes had been opened to visitors, some of the latter had to make the trip to Newark for the night's lodging. CHAPTER LXI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SECURED $50,000 FOR THE McINTIRE LIBRARY ANDREW CARNEGIE DONATED THE MONEY—CONTRACT LET FOR NEW BUILDING IN 1906—ATHENEUM BUILT IN 1830—McINTIRE FUNDS BACK OF ITS MAINTENANCE—LAST HOME ON SOUTH FIFTH STREET —NAME CHANGED TO McINTIRE IN 1904. A Chamber of Commerce library committee, headed by M. M. Duncan and charged with the work of securing from Andrew Carnegie a donation for a Zanesville library, greatly pleased citizens on January 23, 1906, by announcing that the iron master had proffered $50,000 for that purpose on certain conditions, among which were those of a free site and appropriation by local authorities of $5,000 per annum for the library's maintenance. The committee announced that all conditions had been or would be complied with and that success was therefore assured. A week later Chairman Duncan reported that Mr. Carnegie's draft had been placed where it could be drawn upon as needed. There was some question as to whether construction should be in the hands of Mr. Duncan's committee or of the Board of Education. Members of the board decided that the library should be built on the school lot at the southeast corner of Fifth Street and Elberon Avenue and they contended that as their body had furnished the site and would maintain and conduct the institution it was entitled to look after construction. The Chamber of Commerce conceded the point. Its committee had done great work and there was no desire to bring about friction after the victory had been won. M'INTIRE'S NAME HONORED Dunzwiler Bros. secured the contract on October 20, 1906, it being stipulated that the library should be completed October 1, - 481 - 482 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO 1907. In what might be called the Carnegie Library period the donor of these funds for public libraries usually stipulated that his own name should be given to each institution that he helped to establish, but when the Zanesville promoters of the proposed new library requested that it be named after the city's founder and explained their reasons in detail he acceded to their request. Thus the city secured the John McIntire Public Library. Zanesville had library and reading room privileges at a comparatively early date. Preliminary action began on December 19, 1827, when a meeting was held whose object was the organization of a reading society. Alexander Harper and Alfred Martin acted respectively as president and secretary and articles of association for the Zanesville Atheneum were adopted. The legislature granted corporate rights on December 22, 1828, the parties named in the act being Alexander Harper) Charles B. Goddard, Richard Stillwell, A. Cadwallader, William A. Adams, Bernard Van Horne, Alfred Martin, James V. Cushing. Officers were chosen February 16, 1829—Alexander Harper, president; Alfred Martin, secretary; James V. Cushing, treasurer; Seth Adams, librarian; Stillwell, Cadwallader, Goddard, Van Horne, and W. A. Adams, directors. BACK TO 1830 On February 6, 1830, the county commissioners smoothed the way for an Atheneum Building by leasing land for its site at a merely nominal charge. The association desired the lot between the old courthouse and Court Alley and this was leased to it at an annual rental of one cent. On March 10, 1830, John Wilson was awarded the contract to put up the building, a substantial brick, at a cost of $3,500. Charles G. Wilson and William Blocksom were the building committee. Officials of Amity Lodge No. 5, Free and Accepted Masons, laid the cornerstone on April 13, 1830, David Spangler, Robert Stewart, Joshua C. Hook, William Berkshire, G. Wyncoop, James Caldwell, Adam Peters, and William Twaddle conducting the ceremonies. Daniel Conyers and D. W. Rhodes marshalled a procession of Masons and citizens which proceeded to the site and laid the cornerstone. Rev. Mr. Emory opened the ceremonies with prayer; the Masonic Rites were observed ; Gen. C. B. Goddard delivered SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 483 the address and Rev. Mr. Emory closed the exercises with a benediction. The lease, which was written for a long term of years, lasted but forty-four years ; in 1874, when the county commissioners were beginning a new courthouse to replace "old 1809" the land occupied by the Atheneum was needed and to recover it the county paid the association $6,575. With this sum a new home was established on North Fourth Street, opposite the courthouse, the association borrowing money to make up a portion of the cost. A loss of public interest ensued which by April, 1876, had reduced the number of stockholders to a level crippling maintenance, whereupon the trustees of the McIntire estate, with the sanction of the Court of Common Pleas, agreed to pay $1,000 a year toward the Atheneum's support upon certain conditions. These were : "Each member of the senior class of the Putnam Female Seminary; each scholar of the Zanesville High School; each member of the senior schools of the several districts of the city; each member of the senior class of St. Columbia's Academy; each member of the senior class of the St. Nicholas German Catholic School; each member of the then colored schools of the city and forty others who shall be agreed upon by the Atheneum Committee of the McIntire board shall each year receive a certificate entitling him or her to the privileges_ of the library and reading room." END OF THE ATHENEUM This aid gave new life to the institution and in 1884 the McIntire trustees agreed to add $525 annually to their former supporting fund. Late in 1887 the Fourth Street. building was sold and a three-story brick located at the northwest corner of Fifth Street and Locust Alley was purchased. There the Atheneum existed until July 1, 1904, when it became the John McIntire Public Library under the statute of 1902, empowering Boards of Education to create and maintain libraries. In connection with this change the city assumed mortgage notes for $3,400 held against the building by the McIntire estate. The requirements of the trustees were in the interest of the public; the library must be free to school and poor children under reasonable regulations; if the building were sold and the library not kept public, the property should be returned to the McIntire 484 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO Board ; if maintenance failed for one year all property conveyed and in possession must likewise be returned. The new John McIntire Public Library was duly completed and opened to the public March 23, 1908. There were no ceremonies, but many called on that day to admire and praise. Today the library contains 30,000 volumes, a little over half of which came from the Buckingham Library and the Atheneum. The reading room is well stocked with newspapers and periodicals, and there is an excellent department for juveniles. The institution is ably conducted by Miss Mary E. Elder, librarian. CHAPTER LXII TENTH LEGION LED IN WORK OF BUILDING GRACE M. E. CHURCH BOUGHT SITE AND PLEDGED FURNISHINGS BY SELF-SACRIFICE, SELF-DENIAL AND WORK-PLANS PROMOTED IN SPECIAL EDITION OF TIMES RECORDER-PARK MAKING BEGAN AT LAST IN 1907. The movement for a new church launched in 1904 by members of the Second Street Methodist Episcopal Church reached the cornerstone laying stage on Monday afternoon, October 14, 1907. The exercises began at three o'clock. The first floor of the edifice, including the auditorium, Epworth League Chapel, Sunday School room and parsonage being completed the exercises were held on that floor. A temporary chancel had been provided for the speakers near the cornerstone. Dr. Theodore L. Flood, of Meadville, Pa., was the chief speaker. A long and varied program was opened. At three o'clock the large enclosure was overcrowded and the streets were lined. G. E. Clossman, chairman of finance committee, reported that the lot for this new Grace Church, located at the southeastern corner of North and Fifth streets, had cost $12,000. This the Tenth Legion had paid for in addition to pledging $15,000 for furnishings and equipment. It was estimated that the building complete would cost $117,000. The old church property at Main and Second streets had been sold for $30,000 and $31,000 had been subscribed. On the basis of these figures there would be a debt of $29,000. The huge cornerstone was swung into position with the aid of the Grace Sunday School children, who bore beautiful floral offer: ings, which were placed around the stone, after it had been set by Robert H. Evans, the contractor. Rev. A. M. Courtenay, pastor of the church, was in general charge of the ceremonies. In the evening appropriate services were held in the church auditorium, when $477.80 was added to the Tenth Legion funds. - 485 - 486 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO The contract had been signed on March 22, 1907, by R. H. Evans and Company, who had agreed to complete the building by December 31, 1908. The story of the work of the women of the Second Street Methodist Church in making possible the success of the Grace Church enterprise is so enlightening and so complimentary to the feminine mind and will as to be worthy of reproduction here. Celista McCabe Courtenay told the story in the Tenth Legion edition of the Times Recorder of which edition, more anon. THE TENTH LEGION Such an organization was hinted at one summer day in 1905 when "a company of women were gathered about the table at the home of Miss Silene Chandler." There was a guest of honor from out of town. The other ladies were members of the Second Street Methodist Episcopal Church. There was an informal discussion of the question of a new church, at the end of which someone said, "There will never be a new church until the women begin it." "Why not?" asked the visitor. "There are enough women hire and now to form a circle to begin work for the new church." The idea slept so far as that little gathering was concerned but it awakened a few days later at a Woman's Foreign Missionary Society meeting held at the home of Mrs. T. B. Townsend, when it became known that a woman's league was talked of. Informal pledges of membership and service were given but a meeting for organization was not held until Monday night, September 18, 1905. Seventy-six women "formed a league for prayer and work for a new church" that night and organized by electing Mrs. O. N. Townsend president. By the end of October 110 women of the church had joined the Tenth Legion. The "big idea" of the Legion was to earn and save money for the new church while treading paths of self-sacrifice, self-denial and labor. After telling some interesting details of the work accomplished that Fall and Winter, Mrs. Courtenay added : "Two of the mighty have come up to our help and given us of their strength. Bishop McCabe in April and Bishop Moore in May attracted large and remunerative audiences to hear their SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 489 lectures, the first on experiences in Libby Prison and the other on experiences more recent in the Far East." MONEY FOR CHURCH SITE Writing in May, 1906, Mrs. Courtenay reported progress in these words: "When at last it was possible for the officiary of the church to decide upon a site for the new building, the Tenth Legion assumed the price of the lot, $11,200, and when the deed finally passed into the hands of the trustees in May, half of the amount was paid in cash. For in February we had gathered in $703.59; in March $1,000 and $1,034 in April. The other half of the money was borrowed, with the privilege of making monthly payments. Rentals from the property are adequate to take care of the interest and two weeks after the first payment, the May contributions enabled us to reduce the debt by $900. Looking over our probable resources for June, it is not too much to prophesy that when this ninth month of our labors shall have ended, we will have raised over $7,000, or in other words, brought our indebtedness down to $4,000." It was at this time that W. O. Littick, general manager of the Times Recorder, donated for a day the entire use of the company's equipment, suspending for that day its editorial and managerial functions and permitting the Legion to collect for its advertising. CHALLENGED THE MEN At the head of the editorial page stood the words "Tenth Legion Edition" and beneath these came the announcement, "Bessie Eleanor Jackson, General Manager and Laura Belle Poe, Editor." One of the editorial paragraphs carried the following witty note of elation and satisfaction : "Now we have gone and done it; edited a big daily newspaper all by ourselves ! Just think of it! We solicited the advertising, managed the circulation, gathered the news, bossed the 'devil' and never uttered a single 'cuss' word. We challenge any other newspaper staff to show a like record." Another paragraph thanked the business men whose advertising patronage had made the venture a financial success and 490 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO the newspaper management was acclaimed for the generosity of its action. There was a corresponding acknowledgment of the able, faithful and patient service rendered by every member of the Times Recorder's force. The truth is that the Tenth Legion by its character, aims and accomplishments had earned this newspaper recognition and service and this story would be lame and incomplete if it did not include the salient facts relating to the organization. In due time, by labor and sacrifice, the Legion was enabled not only to buy a $12,000 site for the proposed church but to pledge $15,000 more for its furnishings. PARKS IN SIGHT It may be said with truth that Zanesville neglected the work of providing public parks for a length of time out of all keeping with her enterprise along other lines. With two suitable spots in hand, the summit of Putnam Hill and the McIntire tract located on the south side of the avenue of that name, only one worthwhile step, had been taken. Trees had been planted on the hill and common and these had grown to such an extent by 1907 that the foundations for two good parks existed. Another forward step was under way in May, 1907, when wires and lights were installed on the walks and drives of McIntire Park, the number of lamps being brought up to forty, Surveys for new drives were also being made and grading work had begun. A newspaper announcement appeared to the effect that the park was "becoming beautiful." This was a very modest step toward beautification—McIntire Park was still just a grove. But the Chamber of Commerce had taken steps to make it something more than that. A park committee had been charged. with the work and at the head thereof was a citizen who believed in parks and had created one on land of his own. On October 7, 1907, Colonel T. F. Spangler, its chairman, appeared before the Board of Public Improvements with plans for the improvement of McIntire Park which had been drawn by Edmund Moeser, of the United States Engineer Corps. The board approved these (as the Chamber of Commerce had done) and directed the city engineer to prepare the necessary blue prints. CHAPTER LXIII A DECADE Of CHURCH BUILDING IS REVIEWED ZANESVILLE CONGREGATIONS PROSPEROUS AND BUSY-COUNTY LETS CONTRACT FOR AVONDALE.HOME. The work of church building and church dedications was active in 1906. In April the new Ridge Avenue edifice of the First United Presbyterian- Church was completed and on Sunday, April 25, it was impressively dedicated in the presence of a great many of that and other congregations. The ceremonies were in charge of Rev. R. W. Nairn, pastor of the church. Rev; J. H. Hutchman, a former pastor, spoke at the morning service, and Dr. J. Knox Montgomery, president of Muskingum College, delivered the evening address. The nucleus of the church was a mission whose meetings were held as early as 1889 in the S. W. Clark Chapel on Zane Street. For a while Dr. F. M: Spencer and others delivered sermons there. Later meetings were held in the Shinnick block. At length the pastor, Rev. D. M. Sleeth, raised funds for a church home, which was erected on Pine Street, near West Main. The abandonment of this structure for the new one on Ridge Avenue followed. The. cost of the latter was $28,500. NEXT CAME GRACE CHURCH The dedication of Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, located at North and Fifth streets, followed on Sunday, May 30, 1909, and continued throughout the week. The vast building would not hold the multitude which assembled on the first day; hundreds were compelled to turn away and be deprived of the privileges of the occasion. The pastor of the church was Rev. A. M. Courtenay. The dedicatory sermon was delivered by Bishop David H. Moore, a former pastor of the Second Street M. E. Church. On Tuesday evening the ceremonies were under the auspices of the Tenth Legion. Diplomas of membership were issued to 252 members of that body, which, with 108 diplomas previously issued, - 491 - 492 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO represented a total of 360 women of the church who had fulfilled their pledges of $100 each. On that evening the Legion featured the ceremonies with a grand. march around the church interior, led by Mrs. Orville N. Townsend, the centurian. The marchers were all in white and carried white flowers. The reader may imagine the beauty, significance and impressiveness of the demonstration. The edifice is recognized as representing a striking addition to local church architecture. Strength and beauty of the cathedral type are outstanding features which happily match the dressed gray, stone of the exterior walls. BEAUTIFUL NEW M. P. EDIFICE On Sunday, August 29, the new Conference Memorial Methodist Protestant .Church was first occupied by the congregation, the formal dedication of the edifice having been postponed. The church and parsonage are of an imposing character and the pastor, Rev. D. C., Coburn, and the officers and members whose contributions of time, labor and money had made the improvement possible, entered and left the edifice on that memorable Sunday with the feeling that these had been devoted to a great cause. The location, West Main Street at Melrose Avenue, had been well chosen. The site had cost $4,500, the church and parsonage $32,500 and miscellany, $7,000. The old Beaumont Street Church built in 1871, was still standing. The formal dedication took place Sunday, September 5, Rev. Thomas H. Lewis, D. D., of Westminster, Md., delivering the principal address. AVONDALE CHILDREN'S HOME During the early existence of the McIntire Children's Home orphans supported.by the county were cared for by the McIntire institution. A time came, however, when there was a disagreement as to terms and the county's little wards were transferred to Tuscarawas County's home for children, at Canal Dover. The juveniles were still there in 1909, but the Muskingum County commissioners had decided to erect a home here. The decision went into effect September 7, when a contract to build what became known as the Avondale Children's Home was awarded to E. Mast at a cost of $19,356. The plans provided for a structure capable of caring for fifty children. CHAPTER LXIV ZANESVILLE ROSE TO THE OCCASION DURING THE FLOOD OF 1913 SAVED HUNDREDS OF IMPERILED LIVES, FED THOUSANDS OF THE HUNGRY AND HOMELESS-GENEROUS AID RENDERED BY THOSE ON THE OUTSIDE-MUSKINGUM AND LICKING HIGHER THAN EVER BEFORE. If the experience of Zanesville in the flood of 1913 had to be written about solely in terms of loss, anxiety, suffering, peril, and terror, the task would be one which we might want to shirk, but since the local record was one of heroic rescues, high courage, fortitude, brothrhood and mental resourcefulness during the rise of the mighty waters and one of energy and beneficence and dauntless pluck after the rivers returned to their banks, we shall tell the story with pride. There had been a' flood in 1884 whose depths in the lower pool of the Muskingum River at Zanesville had reached 34.1 feet; in 1898 this pool measured 36.8 feet. In 1913 the depth of the lower pool was 51.8 feet. Hence the river below the dam was fifteen feet higher in 1913 than it ever had been. These are official figures. Unofficial records are to the effect that above the dam the river in 1913 was seventeen feet higher than in 1898. Rain began in the territory drained by the upper Muskingum's tributaries before noon on Easter Sunday, March 23, 1913. During four days the rainfall amounted to eight inches in the basins drained by the Licking and its tributaries, by the Muskingum above Zanesville and by the Walhonding and Tuscarawas and their, affluents. To say that twenty-two of Ohio's eighty-eight counties contribute all or part of their rainfall to this vast Muskingum basin is to prepare the reader to realize what that four-days' rain meant to Zanesville. - 493 - 494 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO DANGER UNDERRATED Her people had been convinced that no flood exceeding that of 1898 was to be expected unless a heavy snow in the valleys nort and west should feed their water courses in connection with torrential rains. Knowing as the flood of 1913 crept upward that those valleys were free from snow, residents were confident of finding safety for their persons and portable property at levels a little above the high-water mark of 1898. This bit of optimism was overthrown by Tuesday evening, March 25, when it was found that within twenty-four hours the Muskingum had risen six feet above and seventeen feet below the dam. What had been forgotten or not noted was the fact that the soil of the Muskingum basin was already water-soaked when the then existing rain began and that the latter had no place to go but into swelling streams. LIFE-SAVING CAME FIRST Rain was falling in torrents on that Tuesday evening, but it did not turn scores of rescuers from the work of saving lives in the city lowlands located on the banks of the Licking, where rising water was driving people from their homes. All night long that work of rescue went on. Wednesday was a day of unceasing struggle to save life and property in the flooded zones, while the rain kept on without cessation and the yellow flood climbed hourly to levels never reached before. It was a calamitous day and when darkness fell the stoutest of heart trembled to think of what might happen as the night wore on. It was a night of darkness, for the flood had put the electric plant out of commission. This made the work of rescue doubly difficult and dangerous and by this time the water had reached portions of the city other than those along the Licking. Hopes were slightly raised at 3 o'clock on Thursday morning when the rain ceased to fall, but the water continued to rise during the next eighteen hours. The crest, however, was reached at 9 o'clock Thursday night. The flood stood still until 3 A. M. on Friday. During the next four hours it receded to the extent of eighteen inches and thereafter in a more rapid fashion. All but the draw and Putnam span of the Sixth Street bridge SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 497 went down on the morning of the 26th, carried to the bottom by the old Muskingum woolen mill as it floated down stream, and the Putnam span was pushed from its supports by the Third Street bridge when it floated off at noon. BRIDGES SWEPT DOWN By mid-afternoon the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge had met a like fate and not long afterwards the body of the concrete Y-bridge was submerged. The B. & 0. bridge, save the west span, had been toppled over early that morning; the west approach to the Monroe Street structure had been swept away and the two approaches to the Fifth Street viaduct were buried beneath many feet of water. The situation thus created was described as follows in the writer's book, "Zanesville in the Flood of 1913" : "On that tragic Wednesday, then, all ordinary means of communication ceased to exist and thousands of residents went through the day and night harrowed with the fear that relatives and friends on the other side might have perished or lost their all in the flood. Under this strain men and women aged perceptibly in a day. * * * Few of Zanesville's families were wholly exempt from this form of mental anguish. The city was cut into four separate and greatly imperiled sections. Many families were represented in each of these. The dread and solicitude which marked this separation cannot be expressed in words" LONG DISTANCE TALKING Among the anxious fathers was Joseph E. Brown, a resident of Putnam Hill, where reports were current that hundreds had perished on the east side of the river. Mr. Brown had a son on that side and those reports so deeply concerned him that, early on the morning of Thursday he carried to the brow of the hill two blackboards, a post, some powder and a field glass, to be used as means of communication. Planting the post, with blackboards attached, he wrote on one of the latter : "We are well on this side. No deaths reported." Then he set fire to some of the loose powder, hoping that enough smoke would ascend to attract attention in the city below; but 498 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO finding that it had failed to do so he borrowed a pony cannon, loaded it and touched the powder off. The sound thereof reached the ear of Parcel Post Clerk Charles V. Paul, who was standing on the roof of the post office building. Guessing the signaler's purpose, Mr. Paul secured a field glass and blackboard, read the former's message and presently was able to assure the 300 persons congregated on Putnam Hill that no deaths had occurred "over in town." A shout of joy went up from the hilltop. MESSAGES WIGWAGGED Later in the day Commodore W. W. Buchanan, stationed on the hill, and the signal corps of Company A, 0. N. G., stationed across the river, wigwagged reassuring and informative messages back and forth. At 2 P. M. a party of young men, courageously facing serious dangers, crossed by boat from the city to the Terrace, thence over the Licking to Dug Road and down into Putnam and returned next morning with accounts of the situation. On Friday several youthful wireless amateurs got into communication with stations at Brighton, Putnam Hill and Waterworks Hill and for a day or so received and sent messages which relieved anxiety and contributed to plans already launched for the prosecution of concerted relief. Public feeding of hungry refugees had begun as early as Tuesday night in the Ball store room, South Fifth Street, where homeless ones from the Licking lowlands were established. There they partook of bread and milk furnished by the city. Wednesday morning the citizens organized, electing A. E. Starr chairman and delegating W. E. Deacon to secure food and establish an eating house. A relief fund had already been subscribed. FEEDING THE HUNGRY Later, on this foundation, the Citizens' Relief Association was formed, Mr. Starr remaining the chairman and Frank G. Grace becoming secretary. Churches and halls were thrown open to the homeless and ya public eating house was established. Over 3,000 of these were fed daily for more than a week in the central section of the city. CHAPTER LXV COUNTY AND CITY ENTER SHADOW OF WAR IN SPRING OF 1917 WAR GARDENS BEING TILLED-COMPANIES A AND E SENT TO BELLAIRE -STATE OF WAR DECLARED-WOMEN BUSY, SEWING AND KNITTING -MUSKINGUM BOYS REGISTER FOR SERVICE-DRAFT BOARD AT WORK-FAREWELLS TO DEPARTING SOLDIERS. As the year 1917 advanced the World war was growing in horror and intensity' The scene of it was several thousands of miles from Zanesville, but daily the community was receiving additional evidence that.harmful war effects could cross the ocean and leave their mark in a land at peace. On March 28, for instance, it was learned from the Board of Education that although 204 city children had made application for war garden space, 159 vacant lots were available. To quote this is to remind the reader of the war garden campaign. The idea was well conceived and well received. The food question could not be put aside. Prices were steadily advancing because of .shipments abroad to feed the armies. It was necessary to keep the outward flow moving; to make up for that, men in and out of authority turned to vacant lots and provided for their cropping. Lot owners freely permitted such a use of their land. Many children as well as adults became tillers of the soil for the first time in their lives. Results justified the efforts put forth. TWO COMPANIES DEPART A foretaste of local military activity was had on March 27, when an order came from Adjutant-General Woods, directing Companies A and E, of the Seventh O. N. G., to proceed to Bellaire and guard the bridges in that section. A special B. & O. train transported them to their destination. Capt. G. Wilshire com- - 499 -